Lunar New Year: A time for defense

A stone battle in the early 1900s. Robert Neff Collection

Today is the Korean Lunar New Year and children throughout the country are busy bowing down before their parents, relatives and even elder siblings in hopes of obtaining some New Year money. It is a cherished tradition that is likely to be practiced for many more years, but not all New Year’s traditions survived.

On New Year’s Eve, people used to “defend the New Year” (Su-se) with light and fire. According to Gil-sung Choi, to many people in the past, “the evening hours, dark with the moon hidden seem to contain some covert meaning.” It was imperative to protect the home and family with light.

Lamps, candles and torches were lit throughout the house and the compound – especially in the kitchen – to keep the malevolent spirits at bay. People stayed up all night in order to ensure there was light. They spent the time playing games, talking and, of course, indulging in good food and drink. It was suggested that if anyone fell asleep, the playful spirits would cause their eyebrows to turn gray. According to Choi, it was a common prank to sprinkle flour on the eyebrows of children and friends who succumbed to sleep.

Korean children of the past. Robert Neff Collection

In 1887, Homer Hulbert wrote about a battle for the moon:

“At 10 o'clock, just as the last shadow of the eclipse was passing off the face of the moon and it became evident that the Heavenly dog had given it up as a 'bad job,' a man leaped into the circle. He was fantastically dressed. On his head was a sort of hat which looked like an ordinary sun-bonnet. His face was disfigured by a hideous mask. His sleeves were bright red and reached to the ground. The band struck up and the dance began. It is entirely beyond my power to describe that dance. I can only give a faint idea of it by a figure. There were two separate kinds of motion, one of the feet and another of the hands. Imagine a man standing on one foot and trying to put a stocking on the other, and you get a faint impression of the motion of this man's feet. Meanwhile, with his long sleeves, he was vigorously defending himself from the imaginary attack of an enterprising swarm of bees. These two motions cover the whole ground.”

There were other battles. One of the most interesting and dangerous was seokjeon (stone battle) – an event that often resulted in serious injuries and even deaths. Even children participated:

“Mothers brought their sons, some as young as eight, and divided them into two teams of equal numbers, usually neighborhood against neighborhood. Then one boy on each side ― the bravest and the cockiest ― was chosen to act as the leader, given a large red felt hat (used as a helmet) and armed with a small wooden club. These ‘leaders’ then faced one another, raised clubs over their heads and tried to intimidate their opponent with curses and threats of dire damage. Naturally they were afraid and hesitated, but they knew that their parents and neighbors were all watching them and it was impossible for them to back down ― already masculine pride stiffened their backbones. Suddenly they lunged at one another and the battle began in earnest. Stones whistled through the air and rained down upon the young boys. Club met flesh and bone, bruising and breaking when it did. Screams of pain from the children and cheers of excitement from the crowd filled the air.”

Stones were not the only things flying through the air. During the Lunar New Year, the sky over every village and city in Korea was filled with kites. They resembling “a vast flock of gulls” dashing and whirling about, but they were not flying about aimlessly, for they all had “a real purpose” ― they were the weapons in the annual kite fights.

Speaking of battles. If a crow was heard cawing on New Year’s Day, a war is sure to breakout soon.

Even if it was quiet outside, battles were still being raged. Women would burn their hair clippings at the front of their gate on New Year’s Day in hopes of preventing diseases from plaguing their families. People also burned away the bad luck from the previous year by writing (or drawing) the events on a piece of paper and then having small boys burn it. Perhaps it was the foul smoke from the hair and the paper that kept the myriads of demons and malevolent spirits at bay.

In the past, according to Choe Sang-su, Buddhist monks used to go from household to household beating their drums to encourage people to do good deeds. Sometimes these monks presented small rice cakes to children – if the children ate the rice cakes they would gain a certain degree of immunity from smallpox. The monks were often presented with a little rice or money in appreciation.

There is one more precaution that I am sure many readers can relate to. According to the Korea Review in 1903:

“It is considered proper to take a single cup of wine on New Year’s morning, not for the stomach’s sake but for the ears’ sake, as this will render them sharp all the coming year.”

All things change – even traditions – and hopefully this year will be much better than last.

Robert Neff has authored and co-authored several books, including Letters from Joseon, Korea Through Western Eyes and Brief Encounters.